SH1010 Superhero Theory--Assignment 2

[Erika]

Discuss the pros and cons of having a nemesis. What would your ideal nemesis be like? Is there someone in particular that you would like for a nemesis? What must you do to ensure that your relationship with your nemesis is as dramatic as possible?

This is a short answer assignment.

[Adamant Ace]

Pro: You have a dedicated opponent.
Con: Same as above.
Pro: Having a dedicated enemy can lead to you becoming more famous in the business.
Con: They're probably emotionally invested in your defeat by any means, which can lead to some major personal issues.
Pro: You can learn their tricks inside and out, enabling you to defeat them easily.
Con: They can do the same thing.

An ideal nemesis would have 1) powers that were essentially the same as my own, allowing them to act as a darker version of myself or 2) powers that contrast with mine, such as a telepath or a gadget villain, whose powers are purely mental rather than physical.

Make sure to fight in public places and ensure that the fights become as personal as possible.

Grade: 500 points

[steamtech]

On the plus side, having a nemesis means that the cards are always on the table. You know who's going to show up to fight you, and what they are capable of. On the flip side, so do they. A nemesis makes for great publicity for both sides, as you essentially leech off of each other's reputations. Whenever one does something great, the other becomes more visible in their attempts to outdo the deed. This does of course come with some transparency, but a clever super can use that transparency to fake out their rival.

Ideally, a nemesis would either be my moral opposite or share ideology but disagree on methodology. Option 2 allows for an understanding to form, perhaps leading to grudging respect or eventual friendship. Option 1, however, creates a better strawman to lampoon with your achievements.

I can't say that I have any particular nemesis picked out right now. There are far too many options for my first example, and for the second to take place, the relationship would have to grow organically.

The trick to keeping up drama in a nemesis relationship is to play off of each other. If your nemesis is being dramatic, play along until it becomes time to vanish in a burst of sudden practicality. This embarrasses your nemesis, especially if you get the upper hand because of their theatricality. Well timed, they may even continue the drama after you have made your exit, shrieking how they'll get you, and that you haven't seen the last of them! Bonus points if you are outnumbered, and manage to taunt them into driving off their allies by saying something to the effect of "he's mine."

Grade: Extra credit for referencing the Evil Overlord list, penalty for failing to cite source, but credit again because that's probably what the evil overlord would do.

[Kashiro]

A nemesis is good for many reasons, and bad for just as many. With a nemesis, you always have a foe to fight. However, with a nemesis, there's always someone to fight. It draws publicity to both, but it draws attention to both. I could go on and on, but in short, almost every possibly pro is its own con for different reasons, and vice versa. Would I like to have a nemesis? I'm not sure. As you can see from the above, the benefits and detriments just about balance out. But if I do get a nemesis, I would rather it to be a love-hate relationship. Maybe we're dating in real life. Maybe it's all an act, putting on a show. Maybe it's a way for two people on different sides of the law to be friend. Otherwise it becomes a drain; on emotions, on resources, until someone kills someone else. This also helps with drama, as since it's a more friendly relationship, there is room for overacting, over-reacting and dangerous levels of ham. So, to ensure maximum drama and ham, one must plan and organise in advance. This relies on a friendly relationship having already being established. Boundaries for what is acceptable will be established prior to initiation, allowing for maximum drama, maximum fun, and minimal tragedy.

Grade: A+ for use of the phrase "dangerous levels of ham."

[sync1ine]

Bob: It's already been said several different ways, but it's true: the advantages of a nemesis are also the disadvantages. Familiarity, dedicated opposition, long range analysis, and continual opportunity for drama and combat. There are other potholes as well: getting too personal, losing focus, getting sidetracked.
A proper Nemesis is a mirror to the hero or villain, a way to continually see where you stand in the scheme of things. A real nemesis is close to your own capability, always lurking out there and forcing you to keep experimenting and improving. A good nemesis isn't overly focused on you; you are just a part of the problem they are solving. It doesn't need to be and really should NEVER be personal. I think a lot more villains get tied up in the personality clash thing, and frankly that bores me and causes them no end of trouble.
The guy you keep bumping into who seems to be 'Up To Something' intrigues me far more. Michael Mann's 1995 movie masterpiece 'Heat' gave a good example of a nemesis relationship, even if it was cut far too short so that it could fit into two hours. Robert De Niro plays Neil McCauley, a pro thief, and Al Pacino plays Lt. Vince Hanna, a L.A.P.D. robbery detective tracking down McCauley's crew. I mention this because on the special edition DVD the writer specifically states this is based on a true story. Real-life former Chicago police officer Chuck Adamson ACTUALLY pursued a criminal named McCauley, after whom De Niro's character is named, in the 1960's. They crossed paths repeatedly. The discussions between these two men - across the divide of duty and work - in this movie feels a hundred times more real than anything the Red Skull ever bothered babbling to Captain America.
I see maintaining a nemesis as a sort of publicity machine. It generates buzz; but it can cause you no end of trouble. It requires management I suppose, to do it well.
________________

Doug: Frankly I disagree with Bob and anyone else who holds the idea that there are any REAL advantages to a nemesis, and I intend to avoid them like the plague. My ideal nemesis is one that doesn't exist. If I have truly done my job properly, no one knows what happened or that I was ever involved, and that's how I like it. Bob sees all this drama we have gone through to get here at college as some sort of rite of passage, something that has earned us a place in MC3 and an example of the field of battle we face outside of college. Likewise he buys into this idea that good publicity (or even bad publicity) is a necessity to join the great game or prosper in it.
Baloney.
Any hard-working idiot with a gimmick and a million bucks can show up here and try out. We didn't need the insanity (or lack thereof) that we went through to find our calling, and I don't see any great advantage yet to gaining a crazy groupie on top of the numerous complex problems we will face out there.
If we had been a little older, wiser, known a little better, we could have avoided a lot of grief from Dr. Cavil and his ilk at the Menninger Clinic. We could have stayed with our family. That's a lesson I intend to bring to whatever card we carry after MC3: Call them a Nemesis or call them groupie, they are still pure trouble and you put them down like you mean it, and move on in the shadows. That isn't romance, that's doing business properly. If someone wants to actually LOOK for trouble from us, well, they are welcome to try it and see how well it's worked for everyone else we went through like bad chicken salad.
If you have a purpose in life, if you have a goal and direction, there's no reason to invent or add problems to your mission, and plenty of reasons to avoid complications.

Grade: Turtle

[Twitch]

Pros	Cons
I know his/her M.O. and weakness	She/he knows my M.O. and weakness.
Forces me to creativity use my set skills	I could get complacent and then dead.
Fame and Marketability $$$$	Enemy will be emotional invested in victory.
Slight possibility of 'Anti-Hero Team Up'	Fights will get personal and nasty.
	Most nemesis are batshit crazy (Joker and Riddler)
	Extreme danger of crossfire victims.
Total: 4	Total: 6

I don't think a nemesis is good thing, so I don't want one at ALL. If I had one, I want to insure my first win would be the last fight.

I think inventing the specifics of a nemesis, personality/powers, is not a good mental exercise, because I need to be adaptable when dealing with real villains. However, if we're talking about weak points in my powers all most every villain can beat me. Many wear full face masks, forcing me to rely on body language instead of facial expressions. Also, just about anyone with a higher level combat power could seriously hurt me. Oh, I almost forgot robots, no emotions or quirks to read. I'd have to guess how the programmer thinks and designs them to find a weak point.

If I wanted to make a dramatic relationship with this hypothetical nemesis, it would be simple enough. I can read emotions so either yanking them around about or playing 'psycho-analyst/mind reader' would be a good way to keep them off balance. But as I said before, this is a BAD idea. 

Grade: Bonus points for use of columns

[rypperd0c]

To have a Nemesis is to deal with an obsession. Does the Hero make a Nemesis out of a Villain? Or is it the Villain that makes a Nemesis out of a Hero? To the victims of the conflict, it does not make a difference.

The advantage of a Hero having a Nemesis is a dark one. It is the guaranty that the Hero will always have a rival, a way to stay in the public view, to always be 'The Hero.' Reference "Mystery Men." The Big Name Hero of the city starts to lose fame, and sponsors, when he did not have a big enough villain to fight. Desperate to remain popular, to be seen as important, he gives in to his own ego and sets his own destruction into motion.

The disadvantage of a Nemesis can be obvious, or not. With a Nemesis, the Hero can never truly relax. There is always the threat that the Nemesis, the one obsessed with the Hero will strike out. If it is the Hero that is obsessed, it is even harder for there to be a time of peace. Because if the Villain does not take action, the Hero will become increasing eager for a confrontation. It can become unclear who is the evil one of the pair. And let us not forget the lesson of Doctor Horrible, who thought it would be worth any price to bring down his Nemesis. He achieved his goal, but he was unable to find any joy in it.

In summery, having a Nemesis means taking a rivalry with an opponent beyond a professional level and making it a personal one. An obsession is not that different from an addition. And the very definition of addiction is a preoccupation with something to the point that it has a negative effect on other aspects of a person's life.

Grade: 2 verses of Pisco Bandito (the bandit fish)

[sincitysonly]

Ah, the nemesis, the key to a good working environment for any red and blue carder.



There is a saying out there that goes like this: "A hero is only as good as his villain". What? A good villian? It's not about morality, but about quality. A good villain is always in the background. Think to the comics. Would Batman ever be anything if he didn't have a Joker, a Riddler, a Catwoman? I doubt it.



A good nemesis creates conflict just by being there. Conflict creates drama, which makes people want to care. When people want to care, they become invested in things. When those things are a blue or red carder, the cards win. Influence is everything. Image is a blue's greatest asset, and if the image is that your nemesis is something that will constantly haunt you, constantly create a story for people to become invested in, then boom! Instant success. There is nothing greater for a blue. And how does a red get anything from this symbiotic relationship? The same thing. Notoriety, fame, recognition. When people know that you are Such-and-Such's greatest foe, they know that you've got some rep behind you. They fear you. They cower at the mere mention of your name. And then they'll do anything they can to not invoke your wrath, which means your capers are easier to pull off.



The problems with a nemesis are related to this notoriety. Once people have this image set in their minds, that's all they'll see. You have to keep facing your nemesis, or else everyone will think that you are no longer nemesi, and thus you BOTH lose out on that instant fame. It creates an obligation, one which most blues are loathe to commit to because, well, they are blues. If it isn't instant gratification, they don't want to do it; and which reds want nothing to do with because it's work; if they wanted to work, they'd actually have jobs. It's terrible, for both sides.



Having said that, it actually is work to ensure that your nemesis relationship sticks, stays relevant, and keeps people invested. Over the top monologues from a red in control, cinematic last moment rescues made by a blue, epic showdowns during a thunderstorm; these are the things of legends, and it is these things that both parties must strive to manufacture. Check with the local meteorologist; learn when storm fronts are about to roll in, how high the wind speeds are, if any astronomical events are predicted to happen. Plan to use them; make that little bit of rain a key part of your epic car chase through downtown streets. Any major holidays or local events of signifigance like parades or sporting events coming up? Make sure that you modified your costume (or more likely, your goons' costumes) to match up with the holiday or parade's theme. Boom! Instant confusion when the blue card shows up to stop your dastardly deed and now they can't tell who is the innocent civilian and who is a slightly distracting, moving punching bag. Blues have to set up charitable events where their visage is plastered over everything to keep their name current. A red card nemesis could easily interrupt that event, "Out of Spite" or some such drivel. It keeps the semi-rivalry relevant and in everyone's face...it keeps the interest, and thus the drama, fresh.



A good nemesis, at least for a hench, is the blue card that always holds back for the big name. A sidekick or a hero, it doesn't matter, so long as they don't put everything into their punch when the big bad isn't on the receiving end of it. That's why I will never work with Sparkle. Yeah, she's a great villain, always up to some great scheme to keep herself and her hench (when she gets one) rolling in the comfortable embrace of cash, but she's got a horrible nemesis, for a hench. Illumia doesn't just keep up the pretense of hatred and rivalry, like many nemesis combos; she really does hate Sparkle. No holds barred, brutal beatdowns are par for the course when Sparkle is involved. And then there is the case of Illumia's 'hero support', Sidekick Girl. Most inapporiate name for someone ever. Should have been called "Ambulance Girl" because you're gonna need one after meeting her. Doesn't matter if you are a street thug, a minion, goon, hench or even a rull red card, that crazy dame is going to do everything she can to make sure that you are going to be getting hassled by your insurance company for the next year and a half. So yeah, give me a nemesis the exact opposite of that girl, please.

Grade: Purple

[coriolis]

"A" nemesis? Hah! Been there, done that, cleaned up afterwards. The Teams take care of their own, so anyone fool enough to target one of us discovers they've taken on all of us.

Team Alpha has had well-meaning civil rights activists trying their level best to ionize us "repressive imperialists". Rival government agencies re-inventing our wheels and poaching our work. Horrific as 9-11 was, the silver lining was that it unified all the government-run superagencies under DHS. But I digress. We've had criminal syndicates who just wanted to extort from and kill people with impunity and resented our preventing them from doing so. We had serial killers who envied our apparent ability to nationalize assets (read "steal from the People") and kill with impunity. Trust me, it wasn't that simple. Seizures always were reimbursed (except items used by red cards in the commission of crimes). Paperwork for a justified capekilling takes months to clear up. I've taken out home loans with less hassle! Uncle Sam did not want another Vietnam in his own backyard, and if you crossed a line, you were dealt with. It was that simple. And the UCMJ is not very forgiving. You just could not entertain the sort of obsession a nemesis implies, either on your own or directed at you. Leavenworth is not a pleasant place for mundanes, even less so for failed Team members.

[Twitch]

May 6, 2015 14:40:08 GMT -5 coriolis said:

"A" nemesis? Hah! Been there, done that, cleaned up afterwards.  

But what do you think about the nemesis SYSTEM? It's obvious you have both the personal and the team firepower needed to defeat most 'power sets.' A card-carrying nemesis has different reason to fight you than the poor smuck you interrupted during a mugging.

You mentioned serial killers and thugs are envious of your authority. Supposing one of your brother teams was staffed with a handful of these bad apples, who in turn stage a coups, they'd have full knowledge of your standard tactics and possibly the element of surprise. How would you defeat a nemesis group?

[coriolis]

A note from the person behind Coriolis, which is a tabletop role-playing game persona: The above essay, which I note hasn't been graded, even with a rejection slip, and the reply below, was written "in character" and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Guy Behind The Curtain Pulling The Strings.

It would take an incredibly unlikely series of events for there to (a) be a whole team's worth of bad apples, and (b) for them to end up all on one team. At that point, we'd have to assume connivance and corruption at a higher level, and there aren't many levels higher than Supra Law Enforcement Division. Just as they'd know our abilities and likely tactics, we'd know theirs, you don't get fielded without extensive documentation of your abilities and time in training.

If a team goes rogue, they'd better have a damn good reason for it; if they outright mutiny, which is what would have to happen to achieve so-called "nemesis" status, it would be a one-time event. They would be effectively under death sentence, none of this usual comic-book "go to prison, break out, and menace us again later". A mutinous Team would be put down hard, exterminated. It's different in the civilian world, but in the military, we play for keeps. Of course, if there is a traitor in the head office, going rogue and risking all that to expose him or her is just how it goes.

[Twitch]

Nov 16, 2016 20:02:00 GMT -5 coriolis said:

A note from the person behind Coriolis, which is a tabletop role-playing game persona: The above essay, which I note hasn't been graded, even with a rejection slip, and the reply below, was written "in character" and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Guy Behind The Curtain Pulling The Strings.

Note from the person behind Twitch: The authors stopped giving grades a while back. Please don't let that stop you. I enjoy the in character debates.

[coriolis]

SLED teams are dispersed across the continental United States, but until somebody invents the sort of supratech necessary to build a comic-book "Danger Room" or holodeck, which hasn't happened so far that I've seen, our best training is against other teams, each of us taking turns as being the OPFOR (Opposition Force); you quickly learn what tactics work and which ones don't against them. There haven't been enough Emerging supratech Builders to make Danger Rooms feasible yet.

One thing that tends to keep the SLED teams in line, as what usually keeps even retired military personnel in line, is the fact of being subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Even if you're retired, if they want you badly enough, they will un-retire you for the privilege of court-martialing you. And under UCMJ provisions, that happens after the civilian courts are done with you. Double jeopardy only applies to military charges, so a military tribunal's decrees can be stacked on top of civil punishment. Smart money doesn't take those kinds of risks.